| Comment Number: | 531096-00330 |
| Received: | 9/6/2007 11:40:57 AM |
| Organization: | Greystone Agency |
| Commenter: | Eric Hanson |
| State: | OK |
| Agency: | Federal Trade Commission |
| Rule: | Private Sector Use of SSNs |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
To Whom It May Concern, I am a former law enforcement and military officer who has been a full time state licensed private investigator for 12 years. I have a BA in Human Resources, and an MS in Natural and Applied Science. I teach continuing education classes for the private investigation industry and law enforcement. Please do not stereotype the private investigation industry as an unlawful, unregulated industry. Or liken us to television private investigators who are shown breaking laws every ten minutes to get information. We are a service industry in this Nation serving citizens, corporations, and the legal community in both civil and criminal courts at all levels. In regards to access to social security numbers (SSNs), the private investigation industry needs access to them for locating witnesses, discovering who is involved in a particular case, working identity theft cases, and other lawful purposes. The private investigation industry does not compete with law enforcement, who work criminal cases for district attorneys on the criminal side of the courts. But we do need access to records, and SSNs are key to ensuring we are investigating the correct person for civil court actions. I recommend any law restricting or outlawing access to SSNs have a provision in it that allows only state licensed private investigators access. Not all states have a licensing entity for private investigators, but the states that do run very thorough background checks (local, state, national criminal on NCIC, FBI Triple I, check for warrants), take fingerprints, photographs, and manage every facet of private investigation licensing. I would go on and on about how important it is for the private investigation industry to have access to SSNs, but I have made my point and do not want to take up any more of your time on the issue. I do wish you would consider the validity of my message. Thank you for your time in reading my comments today. Very Respectfully, Eric A. Hanson Greystone Agency